Visnhu triad: goddess Shri Devi, 1 of 3 figures
Indian
Description
March 28, 2009
In museums, bronzes are often seen in isolation, separated by individual pedestals and cases. In the context of religious ritual practice, however, they formed groupings that emphasized the deep intimacies between gods and goddesses. Here, Vishnu is flanked by two consorts, Bhu Devi and Shri Devi, from whom he is inseparable. All three face the viewer or devotee directly; their eyes do not meet and there is no physical contact. Their unity is expressed instead in the space that connects them. Their bodies communicate in the rhythms of curves and angles created between their thrust hips and bent limbs.
In this group, Vishnu’s prime consort, Shri Devi, the goddess of wealth and fortune, stands to his right. Though she is diminutive in stature, it is often Shri who defines the god in the hearts of worshipers. In fact, a popular name for Vishnu in Tamil Nadu is Shrinivasa, meaning “the abode of Shri.”
(Label for UMMA South and Southeast Asia Gallery Opening Rotation, March 2009)
Subject Matter:
Two goddesses often flank the god Vishnu. They go by a variety of names, but the most common are Bhudevi and Shridevi. Essentially Bhudevi is the earth goddess and Shridevi represents Lakshmi the goddess of fortune. There are generically rendered, merely holing a flower of various kinds, usually the lotus, but sometimes the blue water lily.
Three bronzes form a group: Vishnu 1978/2.123, Bhudevi 1978/2.132 and Shridevi 1978/2.131
Physical Description:
Shridevi stands in a tribhanga pose (with three bends) with her right arm hanging pendant to her side and holding a lotus bud in her left hand. She leans towards the figure of Vishnu in the grouping of three bronzes. She stands on a base consisting of a flat square element topped with a series of five round rings. She wears a decorated lower garment flared out on either side in a pattern. She wears a decorated belt and necklaces, bracelets and armlets, with shoulder loops, earrings and a crown. The jewelry and crown is highlighted with gold paint as is his clothing and the two attributes. She also wears a band across her breasts, a characteristic of Shridevi in groupings with Vishnu and his other consort, Bhudevi.
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